Manhattanville’s cross country team started the season hoping to continue their success in 2017. A team full of freshmen and sophomores, with only a small group of returning upperclassmen will look to move up in the conference ladder.

It was a year to be blessed as the men’s cross country won the program’s first-ever invitational
on Sep. 23, beating 19 teams at the Raptors invitational. Freshman Dayshawn Siranaula succeeded as the first Valiant runner to cross the finish line in the race with a time
of 27:06:00. He placed sixth out of 173 runners. For the Valiant women, the runner with the fastest time was freshman Christina Anderson. Her time of 21:34:00 earned her 43rd place out of 153 runners.

The team continued their success by achieving third place at the Highlander XC Challenge at The New Jersey Institute of Technology on Oct 7. Their next race would prove to be a success, as the men’s team would be placing their best finish ever at MAC Championships at Delaware Valley University. The men’s team placed ninth out of 17 teams with 284 points, while the women’s team achieved an 11th place finish, their best finish in seven years since the team placed 10th in 2010. Senior Katie DiCola led the team, as she placed 67th with a solid time of 25:42:70 on the 6k course.

Junior Veronika D’Aragona gave her thoughts on the season, “Overall, the season has been special. There are seven new freshmen on the team and they’ve worked hard. Honestly, I’ve been very impressed.”

PHOTO: COACH ERIC SCHAFFER

As the men’s team broke the program’s school record, D’Aragona’s reaction was genuine and of full of happiness: “It feels surreal considering we have a new team, we were capable of coming together and pushing ourselves to do the best job. The hard work from the season paid off.”

If the season was to be compiled in two words, she said it would be, “energetic and spontaneous.” Lastly, she emphasized the positives of the season, “I was impressed of the capabilities of the newcomers, and I can surely say we’re excited for the future of the program.”

Hoping to keep the season’s success streak alive, the cross country season looks to set new personal records and climb up the conference ladder as they compete for their last meet on Nov. 11, with the team heading to NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships, hosted by Houghton College.